Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very proud to speak on this motion today in support of the Morrison government's commitment of $6.2 billion to the Roads to Recovery Program. This program is one that allows us to work by supporting local governments to build better infrastructure and to create local jobs, which are so desperately needed right now. Since the program was rolled out in 2013, 26,000 projects across the country have been funded. That is a testament to the coalition's commitment to better infrastructure for all Australians.

I am particularly passionate about this project. As a former Brisbane City councillor, I know intently the ins and outs of how a council needs to fund the vital road infrastructure for its growing population. This program supported by the Morrison government is a significant contributor to those efforts. I will continue to work hard with Brisbane City Council, particularly with Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and his hardworking LNP councillors to make sure that we improve our local roads. I was delighted that as part of the recent additional funding provided by the Roads to Recovery Program Brisbane City Council received $11.7 million in additional funding for a total allocation of $58.5 million. This is vital funding that will go towards upgrading local roads to get residents home sooner and safely in the Brisbane City Council area. Programs like these are building road projects and providing jobs at a time when that is so important for our local community.

Of course it should be noted that this program is funding on top of other funding that the federal government provides to assist with reducing congestion in local areas and on local roads. Listening to the previous Labor speakers, we might think that this was the one and only contribution that the Morrison government makes towards solving traffic congestion. It isn't; it's a very large allocation on top of what is already a very significant commitment by the Morrison government to assist with reducing traffic congestion. For example, I was very pleased to announce, with the Deputy Prime Minister, $1.4 million in Black Spot Program funding in Queensland for a project on Sir Fred Schonell Drive and Coldridge Street in St Lucia. This is an important local project that is going to make the intersection safer for local residents and help to reduce congestion at this particular bottleneck.

And there's a significant difference between how the Morrison government approaches reducing traffic congestion by working with local councils as opposed to how the Labor Party and Labor state governments approach working together with other levels of government to reduce congestion. There are two projects in my local area, my electorate of Ryan, which provide this very stark contrast. The first is the $25 million that the Morrison government is putting into the Indooroopilly roundabout congestion reduction project. That will see the roundabout replaced with a set of traffic lights, an overpass and a flyover which are required to get residents through this black spot and particularly in more safety; it is an accident black spot in our local area. The Morrison government is contributing significant funding to this and they're working closely with the Brisbane City Council. In the year and a bit since the last federal election, the Brisbane City Council has come to the party to match the funding provided by the federal government. We have worked together to do public consultation. The detailed design process is now well underway following that consultation, which decided the best option for the community.

In contrast, $12.5 million was provided by the Morrison government to upgrade the Kenmore roundabout. This is a project that needed to be done in conjunction with the Queensland state Labor government. As opposed to the significant steps that the Brisbane City Council has managed to make in the last year, I'm afraid the same cannot be said for the Queensland state Labor government. They have managed to simply sit on their hands and, despite this funding being on the table, they seem to have failed to progress the Kenmore roundabout upgrade project to any significant extent. I know that the local state LNP sitting member there, Christian Rowan, is working very, very hard to get the Labor government moving on this. Because we're working together, we're able to provide the matching funding that will get this project done. I'm certain that the local residents will remember this when it comes to their vote in October.

The Morrison government's 10-year economic plan is a $100 billion investment in busting congestion to boost the economy and create local jobs. It's vitally important that the Morrison government can get on with its work to help reduce congestion and to get people home to their families sooner and safely.

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